THE HOLIDAY MEN

Not a lot to report lately, but that doesn't mean that things aren't happening, even if "things" means "my manager's getting deported."

Well, OK, no, she isn't--at least, I hope she isn't--but apparently she has been having some Visa issues, which have bumped strategizing over what the hell to do with the pilot spec and supplying notes on the first spec screenplay aren't as high on her list of priorities as I'd obviously like them to be. On the other hand, I'd rather not end up with a manager who's in Brazil, so it behooves me to be patient.

"Behooves" is a funny word.

Been picking away at the second spec screenplay, as well as another spec pilot, the idea for which occurred to me last week, even though I was in the middle of reading screenwriter Kay Reindl's blog Seriocity. Anyone considering getting into television writing should definitely check the blog out, if only because the suicides its perpetually dire outlook on the industry will doubtlessly inspire will make my getting somewhere in the TV writing game a little easier.

The new pilot's going to be a tough sell. Even if I was an established writer, I don't think it'd be easy to get someone involved in Hollywood to sign off on. It's got too strong and too negative a point of view--I sort of want it to be a black comedy, but whatever comedy is there is coming from dialogue exchanges rather than wacky situations. It's not flowing nearly as easily as the first one did, either, but that's to be expected. There's a difference between writing something you've been thinking about for ten years and something you've been thinking about ten minutes. Still, it's nice to put my "mad artist" cap on again for a bit. There's a point of view the artist has--or at least the art student had, back in my day--that provides a certain kind of logic to the most extreme and bizarre behaviour. And extreme, bizarre, but still if you look at it juuust right still logical if taken on their own terms characters are just a lot of fun to write.

On the comic front, not a lot to say. Still waiting for Unusual Project One's publisher to pay up, and ruing the day I accepted work from them. No new assignments (paying ones, anyway) seem to be threatening to rear their ugly heads. Still hammering things out with Manager 2.

All of which means, I can do what I want for a little bit. And what I apparently want to do is THE HOLIDAY MEN. If all goes well, we should have an announcement re: the project coming out in a week or three, along with some promotional material. In the meantime, I've started writing Episode Two: North Pole Dance, and artist Nick Johnson seems pretty enthusiastic, both about the project and his ability to complete two pages of art a week. If we can both keep up the pace, this may actually replace THE TOKEN GOBLIN as my ideal ongoing comic project.

Back to work.

Foley